RYA Specimen 13
by ValiantToasters
Summary: Riddick, when dredging up old ghosts, realizes that some unauthorized lab work has been done on his blood, and now there's a clone of him running about. Only problem is that this clone isnt what he expected... R
1. Prologue

If you're an X-man buff, you'll know where I got part of this plot. Enjoy!

disclaimer: Riddick is not mine. Darn.

**Prologue**

**Searching**

The room was dark, and smelled of misery. Riddick hated being here. He had smelt this place for so long. The lonely, disgusting, rotting smell was not quite as strong as it had been in his old cell, but it was enough.

He rifled through the folders carelessly, searching for the one marked "Riddick, Richard B."

He found it, opening it and flipping through the pages. His luminous eyes saw everything he needed, although he hadn't turned on the lights and there were no windows in the room. Finally, his eyes settled on his basic profiling:

_Name: Richard B. Riddick_

_Age: Unknown_

_Home: Unknown_

He scowled. So the morons who imprisoned him didn't even know where he was from. At least he know the name of his home world. He was about to toss the folder across the room and leave; he had no more business here. But his eye was caught on the little italics sentence underneath his profile and background.

_Bloodwork taken from subject. Donated to RYA experiment._

His eyebrows twitched up a tiny bit. They were doing lab experiments on his blood? He flipped the page over.

_Riddick Yearly Analysis experiment. (RYA) government-funded project attempt to artificially recreate specimen fitting parameters of original test subject for government use. _

Through the scientific jargon, Riddick realized what they had done with his blood. Of all the wretched ideas, why in hell would they _CLONE _him? He continued down the file.

_Lab analysis: RYA specimen 13 appears healthy. Other attempts have so far failed. Specimen appears strong and possessing physical as well as mental qualities of original subject. Further experimentation will provide us with more useful weapons for this specimen. _

_Final Report: specimen appears to have taken on far too many mental qualities of subject, including mental paranoia and murderous tendencies. Specimen has escaped lab and is on the run. Tracking in progress. _

Riddick's shoulders rippled as he ripped the folder in half. Of all the wretched, wretched ideas… he didn't need another him traipsing around doing police work and finding him. If he had to face himself in a battle, who would win?

This was a question the convict could not answer, since each person fighting would be himself. Therefore, he would have to kill this clone. Immediately.

--

Valianttoasters: insanely short, i know. im just testing the waters with this story. review, and tell my what you think so far.


	2. Bounty Hunting

**Chapter 2**

**Bounty Hunting**

"_Sister, they don't know what to do with just one of me." - Riddick_

Four weeks later, Riddick landed on Auxon VI, a remote planet known for hosting mercs, the people mercs chased, and a whole manner of other unsightly folk. He supposed he would fit in nicely.

He parked his tiny little ship and stalked off it, a black cloak wrapped around his shoulders, the hood pulled up around his head. The bar he strode into was a rundown, dirty old business, with a makeshift stage at the far end for entertainment, and on the left the bar ran along the wall. He scanned the room quickly, his luminescent eyes picking up the subtle details in the dim lights. Mostly mercs, and a few people that the mercs would probably have blown the brains out of if they weren't all so inebriated. At least he wouldn't have to worry about them causing a scene.

There were a few girls placed on the stage, and throughout the crowd, some dancing, some simply there for decoration.

However, one girl caught his eye that didn't quite fit into this dirt smeared picture. A young, dark blonde haired girl, hair cropped short around the ears, in an old leather jacket, cargo shorts, and boots. She was reclining in the seat, but Riddick could see that she wasn't relaxed at all. On the contrary, every muscle was tensed. She reminded him of a cat ready to pounce.

Riddick was going to ignore her, move on, when she turned around and her eyes caught a rope of light.

They were just like his, silvery pale, except that hers had fraying ribbon of dark ocean blue around the edges.

No. Effing. Way.

Either the petite girl had been in the same slammer he had, or she was his clone. Neither of those hypothesis's lined up. He moved towards her. As he did, she gracefully flung herself out of her chair, leaving her untouched drink behind her.

Riddick stepped to a slight run as she moved swiftly through the hazy crowd, making no sound in the knit shoes she wore. His boots made noiseless taps on the grimy tiled floor, until they reached outside, then they were a muffled thud against the cold, sandy ground.

He saw what the girl was aiming for: ship, barely bigger than a automobile, was parked near there. She was running full speed towards it. He kicked up his pace, his glowing eyes tracking her movements. She moved like him, smooth and low.

Riddick caught up with her near the door of the craft, and his hands found her shoulders, whipping her around. Her near-silver eyes glowed furiously in the dim moonlight.

"Leave me alone!" she snapped angrily, facing him.

He looked down at her--for she was a full two heads shorter than him-- and spoke lowly. "I don't want trouble, kid."

Her eyes narrowed. "You always want trouble."

"What the hell are you TALKING about?" Riddicks voice raised in irritation. He was close to pounding this kid.

The edges of the girls mouth twitched upwards. Turning sharply, she growled in frustration, staring at the sky. "I've been _trying_ to stay away from you."

Riddicks eyes narrowed. "That's the first thing you've said that made sense all night."

The girl fumed silently at him. Then, without warning, Riddick swept her up over his shoulders and carried her away from her craft-- and towards his. She reached for her stomach, he assumed for a weapon, and he shot his elbow backwards, connecting it with her skull. She fell limply into his shoulder, and he hauled her onto his ship. After a moments thought, he went back to her ship and got her bag. He then flew off Auxon VI, his unconscious and unexpected bounty in tow.

--

I KNOW, right? You waltzed up to this story, expecting some sick little action flick about Riddick fighting himself, and suddenly you find yourself hopelessly tangled in the wretched world of OCs.

oh, the humanity.

Well, i hope this doesnt ruin the story for any of you, and i hope you dont all abandon me. restating from the first chapter, if you're an X-man buff, you'll know where i got this OC.

Disclaimer: well, you know.

Love all you beautiful reviewers, out there. dont think you're too good to review this story, because you aint. dont fav unless you review, dont watch unless you review. and i would like some critisism, not just 'love it.' because that's BORING.

-breathes- well see ya round!


	3. RYA 13

alrighty, this one's a tad longer. (hooray!) also, props to _strategem,_ the first to catch my subtle nerd-refrences. good job!

do you remember the plot of x-23? do you know how this story will go? i did keep a lot of her qualities, but i changed it a bit, for originalities sake.

_disclaimers_: well, yeah.

**Chapter 2**

**RYA 13**

The girl stirred slightly, and suddenly shot up from her sprawling unconsciousness, grabbing the weapons in her belt and tensing on her feet.

Riddick smirked slightly. Fighting fans. With birds. How quaint.

She did not relax as her almost-silver eyes darted around the ship cabin, taking in the details. Her muscles contracted rigidly when her eyes bolted to his.

"What's your name?" Riddicks bass voice echoed though the small cabin.

Her muscles stayed knitted together. She didn't answer.

Riddick stood, his broad shoulders extending. "I asked you your name, kid."

Her eyes were angry, and the rigid lines of her body didn't move a fraction. "Rhyah." she answered quietly.

Rhyah. RYA specimen 13. Maybe this really was her.

"Where you from, Rhyah?" he questioned her, holding his hands up to show that he wasn't planning anything violent.

Rhyah lowered her fans, but did not relax. "Around."

Riddick paced around the edges of the cabin, around her, appraising her. Everywhere he looked he saw more of him. The eyes, the muscles, the shape of the mouth… "That's pretty vague. Wanna be more specific?"

"No."

He smirked. She really was his clone. "Well wanna at least explain to me how a cloned experiment of me turns into a little girl?"

She shot to the corner of the room suddenly, pressing herself against the farthest wall. Her eyes flared in the dim lights. "So you know about me." it wasn't a question. She seemed trying to melt through the walls, get as far away from the dark figure in front of her.

Riddick smirked again. "I know all about you. Where you came from, what you are…"

Rhyah suddenly let out a sharp laugh. It confused Riddick. "You don't know _anything_ about me!" she raised her voice, it rang with hollow amusement around the cabin. "You don't know the first thing about me!"

Riddick raised one eyebrow. "Don't I?" he started walking slowly forward. "You're sixteen years old, you were created in a lab on the planet were I was imprisoned, you don't have any parents. You did, but they aren't around anymore. Dead is my guess. You've had unpleasant run-ins with one or men, and they must've been bad for you to have such a deep fear of males. You chew your fingernails, showing anxiety, and you grind your teeth in your sleep, a sure sign of nightmares in my book." by now his frame towered over her, his hands against the wall on either side of her, pinning her there. She tried angrily to shrink away from his glare. "How does that sound?" he asked.

She straightened up, returning his glare with all the vehemence. "Predictable. Nothing I haven't heard before." she slid gracefully from underneath his arms, and he didn't bother to stop her.

He followed her. "The one thing I still can't figure out is why you would be staying _away _from me. I would think that with you being a government pet and all, they'd have you tracking my ass all the time."

She scowled fiercely. "I'm no pet."

Riddick brought his face down close to hers, silver eyes clashing. "What are you then?" he hissed.

She returned his anger, rising up and bringing their faces even closer. Their noses just about touched now. "I hate you."

"Strong words for someone who never even met me."

"I _am_ you, Riddick. And trust me, I hate you."

Riddick mused for a second about the various physiological issues that raised, then commented: "You aren't me. You're a girl. I'm obviously not. Wanna explain that?"

Rhyah turned her head sharply, staring furiously at the harmless ground. "The other 12 were boys."

Riddicks eyebrows knit together. "What?"

"RYA specimen 13. Ever wonder why I was the thirteenth specimen?" she kept her gaze fastened firmly on the floor. "They tried making boys. They tried 12 times. Every single one of them died. The cloning wouldn't make stable humans, and they would die of replicative fading. Finally, on their thirteenth attempt, after studying for a year, they decided to see if a female clone would work better. The genes would be better supported. And, it worked." she flourished her hands out, indicating herself.

"So you're exactly the same as me…" Riddick traced his finger down her cheekbone to her shoulder, and down her arm.

"Except I have X's and you have Y's." she finished, her arm shivering under his light touch.

He smirked at the shiver. "So, Rhyah, why'd you run off?" he kept her trapped in between his thick, ropy arms. He kept her, not for the questions, but because he enjoyed seeing her uncomfortable. His suspicions had been confirmed almost as soon as he had voiced them: she was deathly scared of men.

Her eyes shined angrily with memories and emotion. "I hated it there. It was worse than a prison. At least at a prison you have some peace of mind. Imagine always being hooked up to something, always going through some test, always being experimented on, never knowing what you are." she looked down. "I hated the people who created me. I refused to do their dirty work."

Riddick finally dropped his arms from her pinned sides. Instead of another question, he silently moved to the captains chair. "Get some sleep." he ordered in his quiet, rumbling voice.

Rhyah glanced at the co-pilots chair, and then at the floor. Quickly, she grabbed an old brown blanket from her bag and settled in the furthest corner from the front.

Riddick smirked. This trip would be fun.

--  
R/R, please. i really appriciate it. also, i did NOT reveal my whole character in this plot, just laid down some character developement. trust me, there's so much more to this little blonde than you could imagine.

also, for those of you that arent quite as nerdy as me, "Predictable. nothing i havent heard before." is from _A Walk to Remeber._ awsome movie. i cried. Replicative fading is from _star trek_. haha.


	4. Old Fears

oh, so short. im sorry, forgive me.

disclaimer: you know.

**Chapter 3 **

**Old Scares**

Rhyah had tried not to sleep. She had stayed up for two days of the ride. She didn't trust her DNA buddy over there at all. But eventually, hunger and exhaustion had caught up with her. She slept soundly, making no noise at all, and taking up less than four square feet. Some wishful part of her that had learned years ago to stay silent hoped that Riddick would just forget she was here and ignore her.

It didn't work. When she woke up, there was a little tray of food. Her complaining stomach lurched forward. The tray was empty in less than a minute.

A deep, rumbly chuckle suddenly vibrated through the cabin. She looked up. Riddick stood in the doorway to the bathroom, watching her. She stared at him, with her almost silver eyes and blue sprayed edges. They were a mix of what he had been, and what he had become. His past and present, somehow.

"Where are we going?" he voice was low, and didn't echo at all.

Riddick noticed that she was tense again. "Just cruising right now. Eventually we'll get to the _Basilica_."

Rhyah frowned. "Of course. After all, you're the Lord Marshall."

Riddick nodded his head in acknowledgement. "At your service. So," he leaned against the door frame, blocking most of the light from the doorway. "we have a lot of time to kill."

Rhyah shivered at the way the word_ kill_ slid off his tongue. Like a quiet metal blade. She moved further back into the corner.

Riddick sat down in the pilots chair, and swiveled to face her. "So how about explaining how you got those pretty eyes of yours?"

Rhyah stayed pressed to wall. "They wanted to make a better clone. One that could beat the original. So, they compensated for your biggest weakness."

"The light."

Rhyah nodded, smirking. "When they gave me your procedure, they only let it soak through my pupils. My retinas were left mostly whole. Now I can see in the dark just like you, but light doesn't hurt me. I bothers me, but it doesn't hurt me."

Riddick was silent. A better him? Was that even possible? He looked at Rhyah again, then turned and stalked into the bathroom again without a word.

Rhyah waited until she heard running water, then she got up. Moving fluidly across the cabin, her knitted shoes making no sound, and went to the pilots chair. She studied the meters, readouts and maps. The basilicas coordinates were still 3 days away. Drat.

Rhyah quickly hopped out of the seat when Riddick stalked out of the bathroom. Instead of letting her go back to her little corner, Riddick put a hand on her shoulder--a hand that was almost the size of her face, he noted with a smirk--and shoved her into the copilots chair.

"Know how to fly a ship?"

Rhyah eyed the console warily. "Yes."

"Sure?" Riddick sensed she was tense. Again.

"Yes."

He shrugged and grabbed his buckle. He punched in some commands, then glanced over at Rhyah. "Put your safety belt on."

Rhyah shook her head.

Riddick sighed. "Put your safety belt on, kid."

Rhyah fingered the leathered straps hanging loosely at the edge of the seat, and then shot out of her seat. Riddicks eyes followed, narrowing. "You're claustrophobic."

Rhyahs frayed blue eyes snapped angrily. "No. maybe. What do you care, anyway?"

Riddick smirked. She didn't like weakness. She was so like him. "Why are you so scared of close spaces that you can't put your seatbelt on?"

Rhyah looked skittish. "I'm not scared." she plopped down in the copilots chair, but she still did not touch her seatbelt, and folded her arms stubbornly.

Riddick shook his head. He wondered what would cause such a severe phobia. He wasn't sure, but he wanted to find out.

--

what's that bald-headed, creepy old dude up to now? find out next time, same toaster time, same toaster channel.

also, please review. i LOVE reviews.

also also, everyone email _strategem _and tell her she's amazing. she keeps guessing my character developement and such.

darrnnn you, strategemm... shakes fists

lol review!


	5. Chase Scene

**Chapter 4**

**The Chase Scene**

Cold, calculated voices were ringing in her ears. She could see their careless, stony faces.

"_RYA specimen 13, ready for procedure. Eyeshine surgery commencing." _

She could feel the straps gliding deceitfully gently over her body, then tightening like a snake, securing her fears in place. She knew they were there so she wouldn't run, because she _wanted _to run. Then she was in the tube. The tiny little tube. This was where they tortured her.

"_Anesthesia f__orgone in attempt to recreate all circumstances. Drilling now."_

-

Rhyah woke screaming. She was clawing maddeningly at the safety belt so much that she tore her shirt and her skin around it. Her eyes were wide and watering from the memory of surgery.

Suddenly, big, strong hands were on hers, stilling them. One hand wrapped around both her thin wrists easily, and the other found the release button on the side. The straps retreated into the side of the chair immediately.

Rhyah couldn't stop breathing, but her lungs had closed up in panic. She was hyperventilating, she knew. She leaned over the dashboard, and forced herself to breathe slower, all the while chanting like a mantra that she was on a ship five hundred thousand miles away from that lab, and years away from that procedure. She was hyperaware of the scalding skin on hers, and used that to convince herself she wasn't in her nightmare.

Riddick kept his thick arms wrapped around her lithe frame, pinning her arms to her chest until he was sure she was calm. Finally, when he was sure she had control over herself again, he slowly unwrapped his arms from her torso.

Rhyah closed her eyes, concentrating on breathing. Riddick put his hand on her shoulder and forced her to lean back into the chair, and he examined her nail marks. She had scratched bloody lines from her collar bone down to the top of her breasts. He looked up. "What did you dream about?"

Rhyah didn't open her eyes. She couldn't talk. She simply choked back the weak-sounding sobs in her throat. Finally, Riddick picked her up and carry her to the bathroom. She let him bandage her chest, and though it was strange, she let him change her out of her bloody shirt. When she was cleaned up, she finally let her eyes drift open.

"What did you dream about?" Riddick asked again, his crystalline eyes flashing against hers.

Rhyah felt her eyes prick again. She hated crying. It was weak. "My eyeshine surgery… among other things."

Riddick frowned. "How old were you?"

Rhyah looked down. "Five. They wouldn't use anesthesia on me because you didn't have any, and they thought it might affect the outcome. It was never a stable surgery."

Riddick was rather disgusted. To have a five-year-old put through the same thing he, a grown, hardened man had gone through was rather heartless. "What else?"

But Rhyah was done talking. She was angry with him.

Riddick got up and went to the pilots chair. Rhyah went to the bathroom. There she washed her face from the dried salt lines her tears had left on her cheeks. She looked up in the mirror. Her eyes had always been so pretty, she knew that. But she hated them. She hated anything that made her like him. She hadn't wanted to be him. She hadn't asked to be his clone. She wanted to just be Rhyah. Not Riddick the Sequel. Not RYA.

For once, she wished people feared her strength because of _her. _not because he was a good fighter.

Lances of pain stabbed at her skin where she broke it in her nightmarish panic, but she pushed the feeling to the back of her head. She had dealt with worse. Slowly, she ran her hands through her messy, short cut hair. It was dark blond, and cut short and layered for convenience. Unlike her genetic twin out there, she couldn't just shave her head and not look strange. Yet another thing she hated him for.

A sudden, jolting dip in the floor jerked her from her loathing thoughts. The ship arched violently and began spinning. Lights turned red, not meaning anything good, she was sure. Wrenching the door open, keeping her balance by leaning on the frame, she looked out into the main cabin.

"What the hell's going on?" she screamed over the blare of warning sirens that harmonized with the flashing lights.

Riddicks shoulders rolled with power as he jerked the steering wheel back and forth. Rhyah was amazed it didn't come unhinged with the force he was exerting. "We're being tailed. They shot at us." his growling voice throbbed with the rhythm of the alarms. Rhyah ordered her heart not to skip a beat, lest Riddick notice. Her thin, steely arm flung out and her fingertips grazed the control panel. Immediately, a bright picture of the ship chasing them flashed on the screens.

Cold, white, rounded edges…

Rhyahs face was stony, and she didn't let any emotion show. "It's the wardens."

Riddick narrowed his eyes. "Coming for the lost little lamb?"

"Or wolf." her words were filled with hatred.

Riddick threw a hard left, and suddenly the ship was practically vertical in a sideways turn. Rhyah kept her balance, hanging on to the chair. Riddick didn't bother worrying if she would hurt herself. She wouldn't put a seatbelt on, and he didn't have time to worry about his little mini-me. If she died, it would just be one more on his list.

Riddick aimed his nose at the planet he was passing closely, sharply jolting right again. He aimed the ship directly into the atmosphere. The warden ship followed. He gunned it with all his might, as fast as the speedy little runner could go. The warden ship kept up. In fact, the warden ship was gaining rapidly. Riddick watched the readouts carefully.

"One…"

The warden ship was almost on top of them, it's graceful, threatening curves gliding towards their blocky little ship.

"Two…" Riddicks baritone rang through the cabin.

The white ship accelerated. Before Rhyah could breathe it was right there.

"Three." the tiny ship jerked upwards suddenly, bouncing off the atmosphere. The warden ship was too bulky to do the same, and continued helplessly caught in the atmosphere of the planet.

The ship slowed, and Rhyah let out her breath that she had subconsciously be holding. She watched the view screen until it lost sight of the burning ship. Sinking into the chair, the girl put her head back and sighed. Riddick watched out of the corner of his eye. He smelled the fear she had felt leaving.

"That bad, huh?"

Rhyah flopped her head to the side so cerulean clashed with oceanic. "You have no idea."

--

well, that was a crappy end. anyway, at least this chapter is a half-decent length.

there's a lot of medical terms in this chapter, and more star trekky plotness. (avid star trek fans will recognize the chase scene, executed in star trek by the glorious gordi la forge.)

anyway, review, and there's more of this yummy stuff where that came from!

p.s. aw, strategem, you steal all my plot bunnies. :3


	6. When I was Wounded

**Chapter 5**

**When I was Wounded**

**-**

_The smile on my frosty lips _

_Was simply my façade,_

_My mask and my great masquerade,_

_For the pleasure of the crowd._

_On the inside I was dying,_

_And my eyes shed lifeless tears. _

_No one saw my silent torment,_

_No one eased my suffering. _

_-_

Riddick was leaning back in his chair, feet on the dashboard.

"So," his rumbling voice filled up the silence. "What sparked your little defection?"

Rhyah turned her head and looked out the window, avoiding his pure crystal eyes. "Why should you care?"

Riddick shrugged. "Curiosity."

"Curiosity killed the cat, you know." Rhyah scoffed silently.

Riddicks grin was almost audible. "But satisfaction brought it back."

Rhyah was silent.

Soon, Riddick got up and went to his bunk in the adjoining room. He had told Rhyah that day that there was another bunk in that room, though he knew full well that she would rather sleep on the floor than be in the same room with him. And frankly, he didn't give a shit.

Rhyah's eyes drifted slowly from star to star, the ship on autopilot. She supposed Riddick was expecting her to fly this stupid ship if something happened while he slept. Fat chance.

Her crystal ocean eyes followed the skies waves of diamond dust, seeing pictures, words and memories etched in the constellations. She hated him so much. She hated him for being so much better than her. He was faster, and stronger, and smarter. She'd trained all her life to surpass him, but now that she was out on her own, she doubted she would ever be able to defeat the animal he was. She hated him for being better, she hated him for bringing her into this twisted, loveless, world, she hated him for simply _being. _

And most of all, she hated him for making her care about him.

Her eyes slowly drifted closed, weighted down by hatred.

-

Rhyah jumped out of her sleep, hands going for her bladed fans, which were no longer there. She looked up, and Riddick stood by the door, his deep laugh vibrating through the soles of her feet. "I took them off you when I cleaned up your nightmare scratches." he answered her unspoken question.

Fury burned in her eyes. "Where are they?"

Riddick tossed the blades to her, and she caught them in mid-spin, flicking them open. Black cloth covered the blades, all except the tips, and a pretty, white design crawled across it. She closed them, and tucked them in her belt.

"So why fans?" Riddicks disapproval was evident, and she smiled inwardly at it.

"Because you hate them."

Riddick shook his head. "Have you spent your whole life trying to not be me?"

"No," she said, walking to the bathroom, "Only the last ten years."

-

Could he get any more annoyed? If he did, he would probably end up massacring something. Ah well, that always made him feel better anyway. Unfortunately, the only things he had to massacre was the ship and his clone. What was a sociopath to do?

Rhyah slid out of the bathroom soundlessly, her shoeless feet moving towards her corner. She refused to be anywhere near Riddick, so she moved as far from him as possible. That included forgoing the luxury of a bed for a corner of the ship that was further away from him. Talk about hatred. Riddick only partially understood why she hated him so violently. He knew she was mad at him for being around her, and he had deduced that she hated him because he was essentially the reason she was alive. Apparently, she was pretty unhappy with her life. That made two of them.

"Kid," Riddick started.

"I'm not a kid."

"Fine. Girl."

Rhyah opened her mouth, supposedly to say "I'm not a girl," but realized she couldn't say that. Riddick smiled in triumph.

"We'll reach the basilica in a few hours. Then you can have your pick of beds, as far away from me as you choose."

Rhyah gave a "humph" and stalked off.

Riddick shook his head. Maybe she was warming up to him.

-

Rhyah was angry with him. There wasn't a logical reason, but she made up reasons.

He knew she was angry with him. How dare he analyze her? He probably knew why she was angry with him too, and this made her even more uncomfortable. She hated people being able to read her. It was against her nature. His nature.

She slammed her small fists against the wall, making a surprisingly loud bang. The worst part was that she had nowhere to run. I mean, she was on a space ship, for crying out loud. Where were you supposed to go on a space ship?

Riddicks vibrating laugh rumbled through her chest, and she knew he knew. She stayed in the bathroom for a while longer, and took a shower. This was going to be the longest couple of hours in her life.

-

Riddick knew that she came out, even though she was quieter than a whisper. He knew that she was glaring at the back of his head, he knew that she hated him, and, to his immense satisfaction, he knew exactly why.

After all, he knew himself pretty well.

-

Rhyah had found a ball, supposedly in the storage room, and was bouncing it off the walls, breaking the silence with the monotonous thud.

Riddick looked back at her. Her eyes were stormy and angry. She was debating about something in her mind. She was like him, in a lot of ways. But then, she was different as well. He supposed that was from leading a different life. If he had grown up differently, had her life, what would he be like now?

"You really want to know why I ran away?" her voice, though practically whispered, sounded loud in the silent cabin.

Riddick waited expectantly.

Rhyah caught the ball and threw it back against the wall.

_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. _

Her voice followed the rhythm as she started speaking.

-

"This is specimen 13. It was created for espionage and assassination assignments. It's our most effective weapon yet." the genetic engineering tour was closing with the climax of a look at the experiment. The little clone girl who could take down twenty armed men at once.

"It's a beauty." said one of the older geneticists, meaning only the craftsmanship of the work.

One of the younger ones, one that had worked on the project and close with the experiment, looked at the girl in the room in a different way. "Yeah," he said, his eyes shining. "She sure is."

-

His name was Clancy. He was never a particularly handsome boy, but he wasn't very ugly either. He had worked on the genetics program at the emotional level. He was Specimen 13's councilor, to make sure she was maturing the way she was supposed to.

Unfortunately, he noticed other kinds of maturing as well in the pre-teen. And he liked it.

Soon, when he was visiting Specimen 13, he was sitting closer and closer to her at the table. One night, he visited her at an hour that he wasn't supposed to be. She was confused, but had trusted him too easily. That was the beginning of her problems.

"Specimen 13, you've been coming along nicely, you know that?" he smiled easily, as Rhyah thought Lucifer must have smiled when he spoke to Eve in the garden.

"We don't have a meeting today, Mr. Clancy." she was only twelve.

The tall boy shook his head, still smiling. "I'm just here to check up on you, 13."

The little girl could kill twenty armed soldiers, infiltrate a government-security prison, and be in Beijing before anyone even knew that someone had been killed, but she couldn't see the danger in front of her.

"Hold still a moment, 13." his hand reached up towards her dark blonde hair as if to brush something away. Suddenly, it was around her waist, the other hand pressing a gun to her temples. "Just keep quiet, alright?" he whispered harshly in her ears as he pulled her closer to him, flattening her body between him and the wall.

It was then that something hidden deeply behind her ribs snapped. It was something important.

A gun fired.

By the time it had, the bullet only grazed her stomach, and Clancy was dead against the opposite wall.

-

Rhyah looked out at the stars, the ball laying still in her hands. Her smile was even colder than them. "That was the day I ran away. They say I went crazy. My head was clearer. There was nothing left to hold me back. I lost something important that day, but I've gotten along fine without it, haven't I?" she turned her head to face Riddick. To her surprise, his eyes were understanding. Almost soft. Not quite, but almost.

"So you ran away."

Rhyah nodded. "My faith in the little bubble of a world I was in was shattered. I saw life for what it was."

"A cruel joke." Riddick finished her thought with his own.

For a moment, they both sat in silence, in each others company.

Soon, a little light on the dashboard began blinking. Riddick turned to it. "Ah," he said, turning back to Rhyah, "We've arrived."

---------------------------------------

a tad longer this time, to whet your pallet. im not sure, but i think im letting them get to know each other a tad to well at such an early stage. you think? iunno. either way, next chapter is going to be riddicks turn for confessionals.

sorry i jumped around so much this chapter, i just felt like it worked. i dont know, im just rambling now.

**_review,_** and happy belated hallows eve!

ciao!


	7. The Destruction of Beauty

sorry it took me so long. not that anyone cares.

disclaimer: yummy.

**Chapter 6**

**The Destruction of Beauty**

The ship landed smoothly in the cargo bay of the vastly larger Basilica. Riddick got up silently and grabbed his things.

Rhyah stayed seated.

Riddick looked backwards. "Well," he said. "come on, then."

Rhyah shifted feet. "Who are all those people outside?"

Riddick shook his head. "You don't like crowds, either?" he continued walking down the gangplank.

Rhyah grabbed her things angrily and stormed after him. She caught her breath. Riddick stood at the floor of the gangplank as the people gathered to welcome him bowed. Among them, a man who, although he looked young, was pale and needed sleep. Next to him, her thin arms wrapped in his thick one, was a tall, thin woman with the body of a goddess and the confidence of a queen. Her chin was lifted, even as she bowed.

"Welcome back, Lord Marshall." her voice was coated with false sweetness. "You," she snapped her fingers at Rhyah, "servant. Take the Lord Marshall's things to his room."

"Servant?" Rhyah raised an eyebrow.

"Don't talk back to me, now take his things." the woman waved her hand at Rhyah, ushering her off without another glance. Riddick was silent, a small smirk on his mouth.

Rhyah was furious. She marched down the gangplank, though her marches would have been more dramatic if she had made any noise. She stood in front of the beautiful, dark-skinned woman. "Who the hell do you think you are, lady? I'm no servant, and I'm certainly not his." she jerked her head in Riddicks direction.

The woman stared at her for a moment, taking in her lips and her jaw and… those black eyes finally met with Rhyahs blue explosive ones.

At this point, Riddick decided to step in. "She's… a relative, Dame Vaako. You could say she's a long-lost sister." he smirked inwardly.

Dame Vaako wordlessly bowed to Rhyah, though she pulled her skirts away from her when he did. "My deepest apologies, dear."

Rhyah snorted silently.

Dame narrowed her eyes. "May I show their… _majesties_ to their rooms?" she dragged her voice out over the word majesties, directing it at Rhyah.

Riddick shook his head. "We can find our own way. Are there any rooms left in the west wing? For our honored guest." Rhyah suspected she heard a note of sarcasm on the word honored.

Dame Vaako smirked triumphantly. "No room at all this month, Lord Marshall."

Rhyah growled slightly in her throat. Riddick smiled. "I'll simply keep her in the spare bedroom in my suit, then."

With that, Riddick sauntered off with an outraged Rhyah in tow, and a livid Dame Vaako behind them.

-

"Charming woman." Rhyah muttered, throwing her stuff in the spare bedroom. Riddicks suit was definitely fit for royalty, and Rhyah felt decidedly out of place.

Riddicks growling laugh echoed in the large room. "She does take some getting used to."

Rhyah said nothing, but glided into the spare room. Riddick heard the door lock and knew very well that she knew a lock wouldn't keep him out.

Rhyah flung herself on the bed. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed the luxuries of life. Too long. Sinking into the feather mattress, she sighed. Everything in her entire life, hell, her entire life itself, was wrong. Everything she loved, she lost. Everything she wanted, she didn't have. Everything that should be hers, she couldn't attain.

Everything was all wrong. Everything except this mattress and the man in the next room.

-

Rhyah was awakened with a thick hand, shaking her awake. "C'mon, kid. Get up."

Rhyahs eyes opened. She didn't jump up because she knew who it was. There, towering over her, was him. Riddick.

Rhyah let out a small sigh and pulled herself up from the divinely warm and comfortable bed.

Riddick almost looked concerned. "You must've been out pretty good not to hear me coming."

Rhyah rolled over and flopped her face back into the still-warm pillows.

Riddick shook his head. "Uh-uh. You're getting up." he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her out of bed. She tried resisting, but his massive hands were so powerful against her slim torso. Eventually he won out. Plopping her on the floor, he pointed to a trunk in the corner.

"Dame Vaako had some clothes delivered for you." He smirked, knowing what she'd do.

-

Rhyah arrived at breakfast. To the Dames supreme displeasure, the little blonde was clothed simply in her cargo shorts and a white shirt. Her feet didn't have any shoes on them.

Rhyah gracefully folded her petite frame into the overlarge chair at the table. For a moment, she almost disappeared. But she soon got the hang of sitting on the extreme edge of the chair to keep from falling in.

The breakfast was taken in silence, and a heavy air of discomfort hung around them. Riddick enjoyed it immensely, as it was generated mostly from Dame Vaako and Rhyah. The atmosphere was charged.

His kind of atmosphere.

As soon as they were done Rhyah excused herself. Dame Vaako followed.

Rhyah walked swiftly down the hallways, and although her footsteps made no sound, Dame Vaako followed with her striding, divas gait.

"Dear, please, wait." her voice was sweet, though not so thick. Rhyah slowed.

"What?" she turned to her. She wasn't being sharp, simply asking.

Dame Vaako looked her up and down. "Did you not like the selection of clothing selected for you?"

Rhyah shook her head and kept walking. "Dresses aren't my thing, lady." she kept walking.

Dame kept up the beat of her march. "I realize this, but surely you don't expect to go to _dinner_ dressed like that." She nodded her head towards the simple apparel.

Rhyah considered. "Actually, that is exactly what I expect. Good day, Dame Vaako."

-

Rhyah poked around the ship all day, although she got very little explored, since the ship was so vast and she had to concentrate to remember all the hidden passageways and halls. At dinner, she proudly walked into the grand dining hall in her t-shirt and shorts. No shoes, yet again. She knew not wearing shoes to dinner was a dreadfully impolite thing to do, and that was part of the reason why she reveled so much in the cool black floor against her skin.

Dame Vaako looked rather annoyed, though no longer livid. Rhyah was sure she had put two and two together by now, about her and Riddick.

The dinner was filling, but Rhyah was coming to hate this place. It was all blacks and grays. No light, no color permeated any rooms. Even the windows reflected only the black warp of space, stabbed with stars here and there. Rhyah was the only person who wore white. She stood out. This rather pleased her, but also annoyed her a little.

After dinner, she went to bed. Riddick had chuckled and asked her if she always had an early bedtime, but she was exhausted for no reason. It puzzled her, but she slept the feeling away.

In the morning, Rhyah woke with a sigh. She felt refreshed and somewhat better, though her head throbbed slightly. Getting up, she was startled by Riddick opening the door suddenly.

"Are you sick?" he asked.

"No." she responded. "Why?"

Riddick frowned. "I tried waking you up a few hours ago, but you wouldn't. I thought something was wrong, I was about to get the doctor."

Rhyah frowned, too. "My head hurts, but I don't feel sick."

Riddick nodded. "If you don't feel well, tell someone."

He exited the room quickly, and Rhyah almost smiled. Could it be that he had been concerned about her?

-

Rhyah was sluggish all morning. She didn't eat her breakfast, but she claimed that she simply wasn't hungry. That night, while Riddick was away, she threw up in the bathroom.

"Oh, no…" Rhyahs eyes widened as she flushed her vomit. Hurriedly, she took off the leather wristband she wore constantly on her left wrist. The black barcode was there, and above it, the words "RYA 13" hung in black ink, permanently stamped on her skin.

She looked harder, turning her wrist slightly. There. Next to the barcode, the word "terminated" loomed, so faint it was barely even visible.

"Shit."

Riddick knocked on the door. "Did I hear something, kid?"

Rhyah quickly strapped her wristband back on to cover up the barcode, and slipped out the door. "No, it's fine." she kept her head low, but Riddick was too fast.

His giant hand shot out and grabbed her chin, forcing her face up. "Your eyes are bloodshot."

Rhyah blinked involuntarily. "I haven't sleeping well." that much was true.

Riddick frowned. "You slept over twelve hours today."

Rhyah wretched her face from his hand. "I'm fine, alright?" she ran into her room.

-

That night, Rhyah had nightmares. She had been having unpleasant dreams for a while now, but this dream was a full-blown night terror. She woke up in Riddicks arms. He was keeping her from slicing her own arms with her fans. Her pillow was already destroyed, and she saw a few lines of blood on him as well bloody streaks across her arms. She screamed, tears flowing down her cheeks and mixing with blood.

Riddick kept her close, throwing the fighting fans into the far corner. Wrapping her up in his lumbering frame, he put his hand on her head. "What did you see?" he asked.

She sobbed, not caring if she was weak anymore. "I can't take this anymore." her tiny hands clung to his beater. "So many faces. Everyone's dead. It's all my fault!"

"Who?" Riddick asked.

She only sobbed harder into his chest. She shook her head wildly, her forehead, firmly planted against his ribcage.

"Hm." Riddicks rumbling thoughts reverberated through her body, and Rhyah calmed down slightly. Still crying, she opened her eyes.

"Rhyah," Riddicks voice was quiet. Almost soft. "What happened?"

Fresh tears jumped into her eyes. She couldn't help sobbing some more. She knew she was ridiculous. "M-M-M-My…!" she hiccupped, and then was silent.

Riddick took her by the shoulders and looked at her. "Was it your parents?"

Rhyahs eyes widened and she suddenly shoved against Riddicks chest, pushing him away. "Shut up! Nobody asked you!" she snarled. Her arms bled over the covers but she didn't care any more. If he was the Lord Marshall, he could certainly order clean sheets.

Riddick sat there a moment, watching the shivering girl. For a few moments, he had seen the most sensitive, hidden part of her, and she had been a normal, scared little girl in his arms for a while.

He shook his head, and got up. "Goodnight, Rhyah."

--------------------------------

what's happening to rhyah? review and tell me what you think.

p.s. shoot, i didnt give riddick any time. SORRY! ill try to do that either next chapter or the one after that. no, definetly nxt chapter.


	8. Music

disclaimer: whatev. just dont sue me.

just to quell this little rumor before it really takes root in all your cute lil' brains, this will not be a romance between riddick and rhyah. since she's technically him, that would be...awkward. to say the least. either way, it's not going to end romantically. its going to end in a sort of, brother sister, father daughter sorta way. thing.

got it?

good.

**Chapter 6**

**The Music of a Broken Heart **

Rhyah awoke the next morning, feeling somewhat refreshed, but angry and ashamed at her behavior the previous night. Riddick was off, wandering the halls. There was a rumor on the Basilica that he didn't sleep, simply stalked the halls of his ship all day and night. She had also heard stories of a tragic, romantically tangled love story--which she didn't believe a word of--about his lost love and how he didn't sleep because he couldn't rest without her.

_What a load of bull._

Rhyah swung through the dining room, grabbed a bagel and a glass of juice, and strode out the other side. She knew, somehow, exactly where her doppelganger would be.

-

Riddick lounged on his throne, strangely exalting in the bitter emptiness of the cool, dark room. The tall windows on either side of the throne room could almost be considered stained glass, if not for their gray appearance, to match everything else on this Goddamned ship.

He didn't know the reason he always felt drawn to this room. It was here that his life had come unraveled. Here, he had concluded, where he had gone insane. Truly insane. Yet, when he came to this room, he could still see her face. Just a glimmer of the beauty that quickly vanished into smoky grayness to match the rest of the ship.

He missed her.

Riddicks eyes trailed slowly to the door, which had been opened. The petite frame of his clone stood in the doorway, almost invisible, except for the splotch of white that was her T-shirt.

"Don't just stand in the doorway, kid."

Rhyah slid silently into the room. She suddenly wished she hadn't come. There was a sinking feeling in her stomach that she had interrupted a most sacred moment for Riddick. Her form slipped quietly into a beam of light shining lowly in from the glass windows, letting in starlight. Her retinas contracted violently as the light set upon them, leaving almost not pale silver, and all oceanic blue.

Riddick watched her. Everything about her reminded him violently of himself, twenty years earlier. Especially those eyes. Those two-tone blue eyes made something in his head snap. He didn't want her to come any closer, but he never wanted the little thing to leave.

"Am I interrupting?" Rhyah didn't really say it as a question, she knew she was.

Riddick got up from the throne and stalked out, flinching slightly as he walked through the sunbeams. Rhyahs now-solid blue eyes followed him to the door, and then looked down to the floor.

-

Dame Vaako heard a quiet knock at her chamber doors and said in a loud voice, "Come in!" she commanded.

She heard no one enter, so she turned to say the command louder.

"COME I-"

"I heard you." a soft voice cut her off.

Rhyah was standing in the middle of her room.

Dame Vaako arched one royal eyebrow. "May I help you?" she asked politely, if not a little tersely.

Rhyah nodded. "Tell me what happened to Riddick. When he first came here. What happened to him?"

Dame Vaako set down her hand mirror and gave a small sigh. "I don't know the whole story. I don't think anyone but Riddick really knows."

She stopped, taking in the girls lithe, condensed form. Rhyah leaned forward slightly. The light here was dim, so she had an even mix of pearly blue and electric blue, staring intently at dame Vaako. "Well? What do you know?"

Dame frowned. "He came here with a woman. A young, beautiful tiger that obviously loved him, and I think he loved her too. This was before Riddick became Lord Marshal. He was as ferocious as hurricane, and just as unstoppable. The old Lord knew he was a Furyan, and destined to defeat him, and tried to kill him. In our fear, we took the life of the young woman. Riddick wasn't the same after that."

The Dames voice slowed and quieted. "I think watching that poor girl die in his arms took some of the ferocity from him. That there's a part of him that found out how to love, and now that part of him doesn't have anything to do."

Rhyah scoffed inwardly. "You mean he's weak now? Because of a girl?"

Dames eyes sharply turned on the girl. "He is not weaker. If anything he is stronger. But hearing her pledge her love to him and then die made him different. He isn't as easily angered anymore. I said nothing about weakness."

Rhyahs scowl turned to a frown. "Do you really think he loved her?" she asked, so quietly, almost to herself, that the Dame almost didn't hear.

Dame smiled. "Yes, I think he did."

Without a goodbye, or thank you, Rhyah nodded to the Dame and left in a silent storm.

Dame shook her head. She was so like him.

--

Rhyah knew it was stupid to be running full speed around this damn ship, going Mecca-knows-where. She would probably get herself lost, and she was NOT asking for directions. But she _needed_ this. She needed to blow off some steam. She was thinking, and physical activity made her brain work faster.

She wasn't thinking of anything complicated. Mostly it consisted of this:

_Riddick was in love with a girl. _

_Does that mean I could love someone, too?_

_I wouldn't be that weak._

_Dame said he wasn't weak. _

_But he has to be, if he let himself love someone._

_Riddick was in love with a girl._

_Does that mean I could love someone, too?_

She was running circles in her head, too. She hated weakness. She hated anything that showed someone was cowardly, weak. She usually killed them for it.

She stopped abruptly, looking into one of the rooms she passed. The only reason she saw it was because it had white in it, which stood out against the dark grays that had become monotone.

It was a baby grand piano, all black, except for the brilliantly white ivory keys.

She walked in, sitting at the bench. Running her fingers across the keys, she wished she knew how to play. She had heard people tell stories with music, tell about anger, or sadness, or love…

Damn. There was that word again.

She only knew one tune, and it was only half of one.

_C, C, E, E, A, A, C, C…_

She her clumsy fingers slowly plunked out the base harmony of a song called "Heart and Soul." the large, empty gray room resonated with the sound, amplifying the chords a hundred times. But it was still only half of a song.

She plunked out the lower melody over and over, thinking about hearts, and souls, and love.

A thick, sinewy arm reached around her and began smoothly playing a melody.

"_Heart and soul, I gave my love to you…"_

Rhyah could feel the heat radiating off of Riddick. She wondered how he knew how to play the piano.

"_Heart and soul, just like a fool would do…"_

She was amazed at how the song sounded when it was complete. The piano was speaking to her.

"_Madly, because you held me tight…"_

Slowly, Riddicks other hand reached around her other side and played a sweet accompaniment that made the piece deeper than she thought music could possibly be. It rang through the room and covered them up.

A final chord was hit, and Rhyah was left once again plucking the simple little base harmony, until she hit the last note, and then the music gave way to a much louder silence.

An unexpected, rumbling laughter vibrated from the chest behind her.

"I didn't know you knew piano, Rhyah."

_Riddick was in love with a girl._

_Does that mean I could love someone too?_

"I don't, really." she answered. "Only that one thing." she got up, quickly, feeling uneasy being so close to him, sandwiched between him and the piano. She ducked under his arm and made for the door.

Riddick grabbed her arm, marveling silently at her slender arm, which he could wrap his hand almost around, and wondering if he would be that skinny as a girl, or only if he was on his own as a child for two years. Pulling Rhyah back towards him, he met her two-tone eyes painfully. The pain didn't escape Rhyah. Nor did the pain in her eyes escape Riddick.

"I heard about Jack." Well, Rhyah had never been one for subtlety.

Riddick growled slightly at the name, and his hand tightened on her arm slightly.

Rhyah forced herself to keep a calm face. "Dame Vaako told me."

Riddick growled again, that ridiculously deep growl that barely made it on the sound spectrum. He released her arm forcefully and turned to leave.

"Did you really love her?" she called out recklessly. She suddenly wished she hadn't, and made a futile attempt to fade into the gray work.

Riddick stopped, but didn't turn around. Rhyah could see the muscles in his shoulders tense and ripple under his beater.

"Yes."

Then he was gone, and Rhyah was left with her thoughts of who he was, and what that meant for her.

----------------------------

oh good, riddick finally decided to talk. see? i told you he'd get around to it. you have to let the characters talk in their own pace, otherwise the story is forced.

and sorry for repetitive writing repetitive writing repetitive writing.

haha.

so....

_**review!!!! **_

.cough.


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